Batida – Mamã Africa

I got to know Batida while I was in Portugal and caught their fantastic live set at the Sines festival. The band actually started as a radio show called Rádio Fazuma in Portugal but evolved into a live act which mixes African styles and rhythms, in particular from Angola, with electronica and MCs. In a similar vein to Buraka Som Sistema but using more samples from popular Angolan music.

There new EP, Mama Africa, is released through Akwaaba Music this week and available for free download from the label’s bandcamp. The EP is to celebrate Africa Day which occurs on May the 25th, celebrating the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963. The release takes Batida’s ‘Rap Semba’, which incorporates classic Angolan ‘semba’ samples and electronica, and offers it up to three of the groups favourite MCs (Karlon, Izé Teixera and Ikonoklasta) to rap their own versions over the instrumental.